No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This study investigates the extrusion foaming behavior of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) through a twin-screw extruder using two various types of chemical blowing agents (CBA). The die temperature profile was firstly tailored during the foaming of HIPS for two different CBAs. Then the CBA content effect on the foaming behavior of HIPS was verified for both CBAs. The effect of screw speed (RPM) on the foaming behavior of HIPS was, subsequently, illustrated for both CBAs. It was found that the cell density and the void fraction of the HIPS foamed samples increased at the maximum CBA content of 5 wt% and the minimum screw RPM of 100. The HIPS extrusion foaming behavior was further investigated via blending it with general purpose PS (GPPS) at the blending ratios (wt%/wt%) of 75/25 and 50/50, as well as, via compounding HIPS with three different inorganic fillers (i.e., micro-lamellar talc, talc, and calcium carbonate) at three different contents (i.e., 1, 2, and 3 wt %). The increase in GPPS and inorganic filler contents increased the cell density and void fraction of HIPS foams while the inorganic filler type did not reveal much differences in the foaming results.

No abstract